I live in Northern Michigan and am dying to know what this bush is in front of my house. It grows like a weed and is taking over my flowerbed. It has never bloomed - maybe because I always have to prune it. The leaves are jagged and slightly curled, the undersides are light green/silvery, and they grow in an alternate pattern. New growth is pinkish (see close-up pic). The stalk is woody and knobby. And did I mention it grows like a weed? If anyone can ID this thing, I'll gladly send it as a reward.
Yes, a willow was suggested on another board, but since I've never seen any catkins I wasn't sure. However, I just looked up more photos and the leaves and stems are very similar to the salix caprea. So I'll go with that. It's always nice to get other opinions. Thanks for your time!
A frequently offered one sold both as S. discolor and as S. caprea, French pink pussy willow appears to be something like the hybrid between S. caprea and S. cinerea, based on anatomical details. Yours looks in these views to have similar foliage to that one but it grows as a conical tree with upright branches here. Maybe you have cut yours back or it has even frozen back, resulting temporarily in a spreading habit.
Without a doubt, it's a salix caprea. I even found a little catkin tonight. Now that I know what it is, I won't insult it anymore - even if it is taking over my flowerbed. I will need to either move it or propagate it somewhere else. And yes, it's been cut back a lot which would explain the spreading like Ron said. Thanks very much for your input. This has been driving me crazy for the longest time.
As I mentioned, if it's the common one it's not Salix caprea. Since the common weeping one 'Kilmarnock' (often sold as 'Pendula') is an example of pure S. caprea, that would be a good one to compare catkins and leaves of yours with - noting fine anatomical details. And you will need both catkins and leaves.
